WizKids was founded in 2000 by Jordan Weisman, previously of FASA, to publish Mage Knight. Mage Knight was the first collectible miniatures game. Early employees joining Jordan in this endeavor were his wife Dawne, who led the company's graphic design; his father Mort, who ran international sales; his brother-in-law Ray, who ran domestic sales; and Jenny (Trisko) Berg, previously of Bungie, who was in charge of marketing.

In 2001 the company went from being "virtual" to having its own office in Bellevue, WA. Employees had previously been spread through Washington, Illinois, and Missouri. Mage Knight was selling as fast as it could be made, and the company moved into the hobby's list of 10 largest publishers. The employee count went up to over 30, including Don Gorski, COO; Tom Virgin, CFO; Martin A. Stever, Executive V.P; and Marc Sachnoff, President of WizKids Licensing and Media, who made the innovative deals bringing together the Marvel and DC comics character universes into the HeroClix line.

In July 2004, WizKids created a new product category with the release of their first constructible strategy game (or CSG), Pirates of the Spanish Main, featuring miniature ships assembled from pieces punched out of styrene cards. Their next CSG was a science fiction game called Rocketmen, released in the summer of 2005, followed by a NASCAR CSG called RaceDay later that year, though these last two games were discontinued shortly after. By 2007, WizKids was also calling some of their releases involving CSG elements "PocketModel" games, beginning with the Star Wars PocketModel game.

The Topps Company announced on Monday, Nov. 10 2008 that it would be closing down WizKids and discontinuing product lines including HeroClix. Topps CEO Scott Silverstein commented "This was an extremely difficult decision. But in light of the current economic conditions, we feel it is necessary to align our gaming initiatives more closely with Topps current sports and entertainment offerings which are already being developed within our New York office."

In the statement announcing the close of WizKids, Topps also indicated that it was pursuing alternatives to discontinuing brands so that brands such as HeroClix could continue on without any noticeable disruption in future product offerings.

At the July 2009 San Diego Comic-Con, National Entertainment Collectibles Association (NECA) was showing off a Thor figure for Heroclix, indicating that they might be the new parent company for WizKids. On September 14, 2009, NECA announced that they had purchased the assets of WizKids from The Topps Company. NECA will be continuing the HeroClix family of games under the WizKids brand. The WizKids assets sold did not include Shadowrun and Battletech, which were retained by Topps Inc.

The "Buy It By the Brick" retail promotion returned with the Marvel HeroClix: Hammer of Thor set. Unlike previous offerings, the promotional figure (RagnarokSurtur) was available with the 10-pack brick purchase at retail locations, rather than through mail-in redemption.[5] With the following set DC HeroClix: Brave and the Bold the promotional figure (a Batman and Catwoman duo-figure) returned to redemption through WizKids/NECA, though this time done online.

In April 2013, WizKids announced that they would be working with MFV in order to release TabApp Elite. This helped to integrate figures with the Combat Dial System into digital form. Releases for TabApp include the sort of comic book properties that WizKids is known for, such as Spider-Man, Man of Steel, and others.

Beginning with The Infinity Gauntlet in 2012, WizKids began to implement Storyline Organized Play programs. These programs would let gamers go to their local store once a month to play in an event that built up to a grand finale. Players are typically rewarded for attending multiple events before the finale. Storyline Organized Play themes have included No Man's Land for DC, Fear Itself for Marvel, The Dominion War for Star Trek, and others. WizKids continues to implement tweaks to their Storyline Organized Play programs.

WizKids produces both licensed and first-party games. Many of the games WizKids utilize include patented elements like the Combat Dial System. WizKids produces both physical items, like HeroClix, as well as digital transliterations, like Quarriors! for IOS.[6]